Croatia’s merchandise exports reached 11.5 billion euros in the first half of this year, marking a slight decline of 0.3% compared to the same period last year, while imports surged by 4.2% to 21.1 billion euros, according to preliminary data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
This imbalance has resulted in a significant trade deficit of 9.6 billion euros, with export coverage of imports falling to 54.4%, down from 56.9% last year.
The DZS data reveals a notable drop in exports to EU member states, which decreased by 3.9% to 7.6 billion euros, while imports from the EU grew by 8.2%, reaching 16.6 billion euros
In contrast, exports to non-EU countries saw a healthy increase of 7.6%, totaling 3.8 billion euros, accompanied by an 8.2% reduction in imports from these nations, amounting to 4.5 billion euros.
Revised data for the first five months of the year show that exports remained steady at 9.6 billion euros compared to the same period in 2023, while imports rose by 5.4% to 17.6 billion euros. Consequently, the trade deficit for this period stood at 8 billion euros, with the export coverage of imports at 54.4%.
These figures underscore the growing challenges Croatia faces in balancing its trade, with rising import costs and stagnant or declining export performance contributing to an increasingly pronounced deficit.
